Go Outside and Play—Your Health Depends on It!

There are plenty of days when my workload is so crazy that I barely have time to go to the bathroom let alone go outside and languish in the sun. Sadly, I am not alone. A recent online study that polled 943 full-time employed adults revealed that 70% never or rarely take a 10-minute recess type activity break during the course of their day. But this Friday, in honor of Keen’s Worldwide Recess Day, I am making an exception. I am taking my 10 minutes—even if it’s just to speed walk a couple of laps around my office building!

There are plenty of days when my workload is so crazy that I barely have time to go to the bathroom let alone go outside and languish in the sun. Sadly, I am not alone. A recent online study that polled 943 full-time employed adults revealed that 70% never or rarely take a 10-minute recess type activity break during the course of their day.

But this Friday, in honor of Keenâs Worldwide Recess Day, I am making an exception. I am taking my 10 minutesâeven if itâs just to speed walk a couple of laps around my office building!

After all, getting outdoors does a body good. No seriously! Research in the journal Environmental Science & Technology says that just five minutes in the fresh air can boost your mood (Who doesnât want or need that?).

Adds Linda Balfour, Keenâs Marketing Director and Recess Officer: âThe idea behind recess is that anyone can make it part of their daily routine. We have found that bringing back 10-minute daily recess breaks helps people be more energized, creative and healthy.â

And thatâs why Keen stores across the globe will have recess games (think four-square, hop scotch, and tetherball) available to shoppers throughout the day, to help them channel their inner kid and play. (Too bad some kids may no longer have a recess break.)

It seems Keen has taken its cue from Antronette Yancey, MD, Co-Director of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity and author of Instant Recess: Building a Fit Nation 10 Minutes at a Time, whose research has proven that adults who take recess are happier, have lower stress levels and are able to maintain a healthier work-life balance.

Dr. Yancey was even quoted in one New York Times article saying: âThese short bouts of activity can spill over to the rest of a personâs life. Once people feel more fit and better about themselves, they are more likely to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity during their leisure time.â

The bottom line: Donât let Friday, or ANY DAY for the matter, pass you by without taking a little break. If you are wavering on the issue, just remember how much fun you used to have at recess when you were a kid. Kickball anyone?